Southeast Least Expensive Region To Operate A Car

The Southeast had the least expensive cost of owning and operating an automobile during the second quarter of 1985, according to the American Automobile Association.

The region`s 22.9 cents a mile was a half-cent cheaper than the national average cost of 23.4 cents. That figure increased four-tenths of a cent during the quarter.

AAA`s study is based on computations made by Runzheimer International, a Rochester, Wisc.,-based management consulting firm that specializes in measuring the cost of living, including transportation costs.

Higher gasoline prices caused the increase in the second quarter, according to the AAA. The average second-quarter cost per mile last year was 22.9 cents.

New England continued to be the most expensive region to own and operate a car, at 24 cents. Costs in other regions were: Mid-Atlantic and West, 23.6 cents; Southwest, 23.3 cents; Great Lakes, 23.2 cents and Midwest, 23 cents.

AAA`s quarterly cost figures are based on a composite national average for three 1985 models: a 4-cylinder Chevette, a 6-cylinder Celebrity and a 6- cylinder Impala, projected to be driven 15,000 miles annually and retained in service for four years.

The average per-mile cost is determined by combining operating and ownership costs. Operating costs, at 7.54 cents per mile, relate directly to the number of miles driven and include gasoline, oil, maintenance and tires.

Ownership costs include insurance, license and registration fees, taxes, depreciation and finance charges. Computed at an average of $6.51 per day, or $2,376 per year, owernship costs are fixed costs not appreciably affected by the number of miles driven.